By William Godwin                                                                         Jesus (2) September 1986

(William Godwin, 45, who claims to be Jesus the Christ, addresses 21 points of  interest below in his second message. He lives in Corinth, Miss, The statements of Mr. Godwin do not necessarily reflect the views of this company.)

The story of my earlier life his been heard in every part of the world — and so I am here. The four accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the most accurate parts of the Bible. Much of the Bible is not meant to be taken literally. When human beings came into existence, there were people all over the world, not just in the Middle East. Adam and Eve were two of many,

The world has made no progress since Day One. We continue to bail water and the hole is not fixed. In the area which really counts — behavior — people are no better or worse than they have ever been, If matters seem more serious now, it is because there are more of us, some 5 billion. We are living to regret the introduction of machines to Earth. What a price to pay for fleeting comforts!

Is God perfect? All living things grow. If God were perfect, there would be no growth in the Lord and the Father would thus be dead. The Lord is growing and changing and learning all the time, just like all other beings. Of course, God achieves much more than we do. By the way, God has no gender.

Death is a passage from earthly existence into eternal life. During the afterlife, spirits are given the opportunity to work toward perfection. Those whose improvement is great enough are rewarded with being in the presence of God. Spirits can move to any part of the universe in an instant. Spirits have no means or desire for sexual relations. There is no hell and no devil.

How can I be for democracy and against competition? Easy. There should be no campaign spending and no attacks on other candidates. The media would offer free space and free time in equal amounts to the candidates. No advertising, not even cards to hand out. Each candidate would present his or her endorsements, accomplishments and planned programs. There would not be an overabundance of candidates because the law would require a large number of registered voters to sign a list for having one's name on the ballot. Not to mention that so many people would be incapable of writing campaign letters to the media. Voters could decide their choices without all of the hoopla. 

Certainly, the church and the state should be separate. As for the United States, the government has not often bothered church people in their exercise of religion. But the churches! They forfeited their role in charity work and now they say that government schools should help them with the children's prayers. This is an admission that the families and churches are not doing the job.

Nuclear war can be avoided if the leaders talk frequently without yelling insults at each other. It is not necessary to talk tough to convince voters that their leaders are patriotic. Nuclear energy is a risk that we must take.

With the elimination of arms, real progress can be made on the national debt in the United States and on various problems in other countries. Record military budgets in peacetime are absurd. Some of the standing armies can be used to beef up the police forces. It is not necessary to have a national debt.

This is an unjust world, with extremes of poverty and wealth. As for terrorism, we should be asking the lawless elements what they want — and trying to give it to them if it is not entirely unreasonable. Meanwhile, restrict international travel to official government business and discourage travel, even within national borders. Besides, we need to conserve energy.

Space travel is the modern sequel to the Tower of Babel, in which God punished the people for trying to build a structure to Heaven — by confusing their speech. Today, as we try to explore the heavens, the Lord is causing confusion in every aspect of our lives. God will not allow space travel to continue.

While nation-states continue to exist, the world should not interfere with the internal affairs of a country. Even though certain policies of South Africa and other governments are repulsive, they are nobody else's business. Complete freedom is chaos. The question is: How much freedom is good? There are specific freedoms, but they cannot be innumerable. A society must have a certain amount of regimentation. Russians need more freedom and Americans less. Terrorism is an expression of freedom. More freedom means more crime.

Capital punishment is never justified, We can be sure enough of a persons guilt for imprisonment, but not sure enough for execution. Prisons should house the violent criminals only. Never let them go. Make non-violent criminals work on the outside to pay their debts. With socialism, everyone has a job.

Euthanasia is proper if the patient gives permission in front of witnesses. Suicide is not a black and white issue. Circumstances may tilt the matter one way or the other. It is not right to keep someone artificially alive perpetually. We should not over-extend lives. A Christian should be yearning to die and move on to the next part of life as soon as possible.

If my views seem to be inconsistent, it is because the truth comes in all shades - from left to center to right. I am generally liberal in my political thinking and generally conservative in my personal tastes. But mostly moderate.

The Lord favors censorship of filth, but not of serious ideas.

There are many illnesses, including drug addictions. Since it is not possible to wipe out drugs — including, tobacco, alcohol and others — we must treat the illnesses as they occur. Vigorous law enforcement is essential.

The most important thing for children is not to have fun, but to behave. A child should not be allowed to start school until he or she behaves well. 

I am overjoyed with the many excellent pieces of religious and secular music which have been written and performed over the centuries.

The signs of the future are all around us. Wise people know how to read the signs. I recommend that you learn how to read the messages in numerals.

Although my birthday is coming up on September 25, I suggest that you continue to observe Christmas in December to avoid the disruption of a social custom.

If you wish to respond, the mailing address is William Godwin, 1104 East 5th Street, Corinth MS 38834 (USA). If the volume of letters is too great, I will deal with your comments and questions in future media messages. God sends love to each of you, as do I and the Holy Spirit within your soul. Let us hear from you.

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